{"id":303958,"date":"2025-07-30T13:04:22","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T13:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/303958\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T13:04:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T13:04:22","slug":"ukraines-privatbank-wins-1-9-billion-fraud-case-against-former-owner-kolomoisky-at-uk-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/303958\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine’s PrivatBank wins $1.9 billion fraud case against former owner Kolomoisky at UK court"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u200c\u200c\u200c\u200cUkraine’s largest lender, PrivatBank, won $1.9 billion in a London court case against its former owners, oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky and his business partner, <\/strong>for allegedly defrauding the institution, the bank’s press service announced on July 30.<\/p>\n

Kolomoisky<\/a> is the wealthiest businessman to have landed behind bars in Ukraine’s independent history, being detained in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The once-powerful businessman co-founded PrivatBank<\/a> in 1992 but lost ownership to the state in 2016 after his management left a $5.5 billion hole in its balance sheet.<\/p>\n

The ruling represents a significant win for PrivatBank, which has pursued the case in English courts since 2017 following the bank’s nationalization, the bank says in a press release.<\/a><\/p>\n

In today’s court ruling, London’s High Court ruled that Kolomoisky and his business partner Hennadii Boholiubov misappropriated nearly $2 billion from PrivatBank through a “highly complex lending scheme.”<\/p>\n

The full amount will be determined at a subsequent hearing, but the bank says that, including interest over more than a decade and legal costs, it will significantly exceed $2 billion.<\/p>\n

“This is a landmark victory for the Bank and its shareholder \u2013 the Government of Ukraine,” said Nils Melngailis, chairman of PrivatBank’s supervisory board, in a press release. <\/p>\n

“Our process does not end here as we will begin collecting the sums that rightfully belong to PrivatBank.”<\/p>\n

During the court hearings, Kolomoisky, who was detained in Ukraine, and his associate Boholiubov did not testify in person but denied the allegations.<\/p>\n

In July 2024, it was reported that Boholiubov left Ukraine<\/a> using forged documents and was temporarily residing in Vienna at the time.<\/p>\n

Boholiubov also used deceptive documents to distance himself from the fraud in the case, the bank’s press service reported, citing a judge who called the move “dishonest.”<\/p>\n

Kolomoisky and Boholiubov are suspected in several cases related to embezzlement and money laundering at PrivatBank, which brought it to the brink of bankruptcy in 2016.<\/p>\n

Ukraine then nationalized the bank and provided Hr 155 billion ($3.7 billion) to cover the deficit and prevent the bankruptcy of the country’s largest bank, according to National Bank’s head Andrii Pyshnyi.<\/a><\/p>\n

In November 2024, Ukraine’s Supreme Court definitively ended<\/a> Kolomoisky’s legal challenge to PrivatBank’s nationalization, upholding lower court rulings.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies announced<\/a> on July 23 that they had completed an investigation into Kolomoisky’s case, which involved the embezzlement of Hr 9.2 billion ($250 million) from PrivatBank. The case is now headed to court.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Kolomoisky is suspected<\/a> of document forgery and ordering a murder.<\/p>\n

The PrivatBank affair<\/a> has become emblematic of Ukraine’s efforts to clean up its banking sector and combat oligarch influence, being closely watched by Western partners<\/a> as a benchmark of the country’s commitment to anti-corruption reforms.<\/p>\n

President Volodymyr Zelensky sanctioned<\/a> Kolomoisky and other officials in February, freezing all their Ukrainian assets and blocking them from conducting financial transactions, among other restrictions.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s EU accession at risk ahead of critical anti-corruption vote<\/p>\n

President Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s sudden move to strip the country\u2019s anti-corruption infrastructure of its independence stunned the European Union. Even as the Ukrainian authorities now attempt to reverse the controversial move that faced a harsh backlash from the EU and the wider public, the damage to Kyiv\u2019s potential accession to the union has already been done, experts say. Two days after hastily signing a controversial bill that subordinates the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the<\/p>\n

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